Reality Check for John Diggle
by changingdestiny40
Summary: A slight rewrite of 6x17 in which Oliver is much harsher on Diggle than in canon, really slamming his foot down, after the latter's cruel words to the former about dropping bodies. Not for Diggle fans. (Thanks goes to Aragorn II Elessar for providing the title)


**Recently, I thought of episode 6x17 when Diggle said some horrible things about Oliver dropping bodies and that the latter was to blame for the loss of his son's mom. Seeing that scene infuriated me and was the first, and only, time I felt raw anger for something I'd seen on "Arrow". And I think I may have felt very sorry for Oliver. Thankfully he didn't take it lying down and I found him to be firm enough. Thinking back to that scene gave me the idea for this one shot though and I hope all of you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Arrow".**

Oliver listened in disbelief to everything Diggle was telling him in the bunker, the former's anger rising. Dig was screaming at him about how Oliver only destroyed what he touched, had dunked so many lives, and was ultimately responsible for Samantha's death and why William was an orphan. Hearing those particular words was the last straw for Oliver, especially since the way Dig worded it, he might as well have said that Oliver had indirectly murdered his own son's mother, which was something he would not stand for. Soon Oliver had enough of the other man's tirade and made it clear.

"SHUT THE HELL UP IMMEDIATELY!", he screamed, anger burning in his eyes as he slammed his closed fist onto the table. Dig immediately clamped his mouth shut upon hearing this. Satisfied, Oliver continued.

"Everything you just said to me is an absolute and utter load of bull crap. I love and care deeply for my family and would NEVER intentionally allow anything to happen to them! And while I have dropped bodies, I've only done it when I had to, something I'd thought you had understood and accepted by now. And how dare you blame me for Samantha's death! The ONLY one to blame for that is Chase and he's the one who took my son's mother from him.

"How dare you also make it seem like I'm some kind of monster, how dare you make me seem as though I'm the true villain of my own story, and HOW, DARE, YOU act all self-righteous, holier than thou, and pretty much claim that everything I touch dies! I have done some terrible things in my life and I know that I'm not a saint. But not every death that's happened is my fault and I'm not going to take responsibility for something that I'm blameless of.

"In fact, you're the one who was taking drugs from Diaz, which no doubt helped facilitate him, if only a little bit, in taking over our city. Plus that also caused you to compromise the team and put them at risk. And now you have the temerity of more or less accusing me of being a monster. WELL GUESS WHAT!? While I may have dropped a lot of bodies, at least none of them was my own brother, and that's something you should think about the next time you open your big stinking mouth!", Oliver finished coldly.

Hearing this, Dig was so filled with rage that he punched Oliver. Oliver immediately punched him back and the two men got into an almost brutal fight, exchanging punches, kicks, and ramming each other throughout the bunker and making a mess. It soon ended with Oliver overpowering and subduing him and then grabbing his neck in a firm chokehold, breathing hard.

"First you and your crap, then Team Outsiders, or whatever Dinah, Rene, and Curtis want to be called, and their crap in regards to the hell they put me through during our conflict, and now your crap? I've absolutely had enough and am NOT putting up with this any longer! And now I have only one thing to say to you.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE IMMEDIATELY AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR BEHIND INSTEAD OF THROWING SUCH HORRIBLE ALLEGATIONS AT MY FACE DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU ARE ALSO SUSPENDED FROM THIS TEAM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! ACTUALLY YOU KNOW WHAT? DON'T BOTHER LEAVING HERE CAUSE I'LL BE HAPPY TO DO IT FOR YOU!"

And without further preamble while maintaining the chokehold around Dig's neck, Oliver put his arm in an arm lock, marched him right to the elevator, and tossed Dig out of HIS bunker and into the elevator with all of his strength, sending Dig flat onto his butt, and then closed the elevator on him. After which Oliver went and poured himself a nice, strong drink because boy did he one after the mess Dig, Dinah, Rene, and Curtis all put him through. After all of this was over and Diaz was dealt with, Oliver was going to take a nice, long, vacation to Hawaii with his wife Sara.

As for Diggle, his wife Lyla heard what happened and was outraged by his behavior, making it clear in no uncertain terms that either he grow up and clean up his act or she'd divorce his behind. All of this caused him to reflect and meditate on his behavior and finally come to the realization that he was in the wrong and out of line. He decided to clean up his act by going to therapy while each session had a profoundly positive impact upon his life and he'd return back to the man he once was when Oliver first recruited him. He also delivered a sincere, heartfelt apology to both Oliver and Lyla and they forgave him while Oliver let him back into the team.

As for Team Arrow, including Dinah, Rene, and Curtis since they'd also apologized to OTA profusely and took full responsibility, they asked A.R.G.U.S., instead of the F.B.I., for help and they helped the team defeat and kill Diaz, Oliver landing the final blow onto him, while dismantling his cabal and exposing everyone on Diaz's cabal.

During this, they also uncovered information about the Ninth Circle and Eden Corps terrorist organizations and their plans to destroy the city and then place the Glades under their authority. A.R.G.U.S and the team, with help from Team Flash, were able to nip that problem in the bud and completely destroyed those two villainous organizations.

Once all was said and done, Oliver took his well-deserved vacation to Hawaii with Sara while looking forward to the happy future they and their city would have.

**The End**

**A/N I hope everyone here enjoyed it and please free to review if you want to.**

**I don't hate Diggle and have also decided to give him a pass since in S7 he took responsibly for what he did to his wife at A.R.G.U.S. and sacrificed his career for her, getting his just desserts as my friend Blackhunter here put it. But I had thought about his behavior in 6x17 two days ago and at that moment, felt like writing this.**

**Have a good day.**


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